


You Again

by cdenzelj



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28044114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdenzelj/pseuds/cdenzelj
Summary: Nick encounters an old flame
Relationships: Nick Stokes/Natalie Gillette
Kudos: 1





	You Again

Nick and Greg waited in their seats while the crowd filed out through the lobby. There were a few other stragglers that shared their mentality. “Wanna hit the strip after this?” quipped Greg. Nick wasn’t looking at him and didn’t answer. “Nick.”  
“Hmm?”  
Greg followed his friend’s line of sight to a beautiful young woman in the same row, some ten seats away. Her long, auburn hair was pulled back in a lose ponytail. She paid them no mind, quietly texting someone on her cell, though her demeanor he could glean from her posture seemed friendly. She was dressed a little to formally for the occasion; in a black cocktail dress that hugged her in all the right places. “Nick!” Greg whispered loudly, checking his friend with his elbow. Stokes looked at him with a dry smirk.  
“What?”  
Sanders noticed his friend’s pupils were blown wide open, despite the light. He sighed pointedly. “Nothing, I just think I hear a text from Catherine. I’ll be out in the lobby.” He got up and left Nick to his interest.  
Greg headed toward the front desk, tousling his hand through his blond hair. Suddenly, someone came up behind him, throwing their arms around his shoulders. His heart rate spiked as his body was pumped full of adrenaline. He whirled around as a man greeted him cheerfully. “Greg freakin’ Sanders! How you doin’?!”  
Greg smiled widely, grasping the forearm of a short asian man about his own age. “Ming Tsung! God, I haven’t seen you in for Goddamn ever!” The old fraternity brothers embraced warmly. “How you doin’, man?”  
“Doin’ great, I actually work in San Diego now.”  
“Really? Still a microscopist?”  
“Nope, I’m actually out of the lab now. Me and my supervisor just had a few credits to complete to stay up on our certification, so we thought we’d come by Vegas.”  
“Oh, so you’re heading back soon?”  
“I am,” said Ming, putting his hand on his chest. “Gillette’s staying a few more days, I think. Sometimes her vacation to Nevada lines up with these lectures. You still in the lab?”  
Greg shook his head. “Nope, been out in the field a while now, really refreshing to get out. Me an’ Nick are here for the same reason. He hates these things. But he can be bought for a few steaks.”  
“Still don’t like going alone?”  
“Well, I’m not super great at socializing, and he’s usually real good at helping me with… that kind of thing.”  
Ming laughed. “Ah, so you want to hit the strip while you’re on this side of town and you needed a wingman.”  
Greg scoffed. “So where’s your boss lady?”  
“She hung back a bit. Doesn’t like crowds. What about your friend?”  
“I think he stayed back to get her number,” said Greg.  
“Well, we have to see how that turns out, then.”  
“Why?”  
“She’s insanely picky about guys. Can tell instantly about people. So if your boy is anything less than a knight, he isn’t gonna get far with her.”  
Meanwhile, Nick approached the woman with his arms folded over his chest. “Natalie.”  
She looked up, beaming widely. “Nick Stokes,” she purred as she threw her arms around his neck. He sighed quietly, letting his embrace fall around her hips. “I’m surprised you remember me.”  
“Aw, you don’t give yourself enough credit,” he replied, stepping back a bit to take her all in. “Time’s been good to you.”  
“You too,” she replied appreciatively, reaching out to trace her fingertips along his temple. A familiar electrical sensation flooded his body, something he’d only experienced as strong when she touched him. “Getting a little salt in your pepper up here. Scuff comin’ in nice. Givin’ off some serious daddy vibes. And you’ve been smiling a lot more, huh?”  
He shyly rubbed his hand on his cheek. “Yeah, can’t escape the lines. Gettin’ some crow’s feet.”  
“Don’t try,” she said. “You look handsome as ever.”  
He felt a tightness in his chest that alerted him to the fact he’d been holding his breath. “Thanks,” he said softly. “I took your advice.”  
“Which part?”  
“Learning when to say no. Going easier on myself. Accepting myself.”  
“Glad I had some influence on ya.”  
“So you seem a bit… out of place—“  
She looked down at herself. “Right, yeah. I was planning on going to see the Lopez—Martinez fight tonight. Maybe hit the strip a little later.”  
“Alone?” he asked abruptly.  
Natalie shrugged. “Well, I can handle myself, I think.”  
He shook his head. “Oh, I have no doubt. It’s just…” She smirked, sending sparks radiating from his head and down his limbs. “Would you mind some company? We can hit up a bar afterwards, have a couple drinks… dancing?” He tried hard to keep the nervous tremble from his voice. Something about her made him lose every shred of experienced confidence he had and made him feel like a teenager again, thrilled and terrified. He managed to remain calm and composed on the outside, but on the inside, he was a wildfire. “Looking like you do, you have to dance,” he said quietly.  
She chuckled lightly, slipping her hand into his. “I see you’ve still got game. You wanna bring your friend along?” Nick frowned darkly. “Okay, so no. And my teammate’s not one for crowds, so he’ll probably not want to join.”  
“Greg hates being a third wheel,” Nick quipped. “He won’t come.”  
“Well, I’m Canadian, so I still gotta be nice and offer.”  
“Well I’m a very private man,” he shot back, lowering his voice and leaning close. “So I think it would be best to make them think we’ve never met.”  
“Sounds like you just like messing with your friends.”  
“Doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Why would you bring them?”  
She shifted uneasily. “Look, you should probably know… Things aren’t gonna end the way they did last time.”  
Nick bit the inside of his cheek. “What d’ya mean?”  
“In bed, Nick.”  
He lowered his head, blush turning the rim of his ears a deep shade of red. “Right. I’m sorry, I’m not usually like that, I know people say that a lot but—“  
“I’m gonna need you to hit the brakes,” she said, stopping him in his tracks, placing her hand on his chest, and pushing him against the wall. He swallowed hard, his gaze fixating on hers. “You need to stop blaming yourself, because there’s nothing to forgive. I was there just as much as you were.”  
“We had kind of a lot to drink—“  
“Nick,” she said through a chuckle, “I slept with you because I wanted to. You’re thoughtful to respect me like you do, but you need to know, what other people think doesn’t bother me as much as you think it would.” He nodded, dragging his eyes away from her. “You should know too… I only sleep with men I care a lot about. You’ve got a good heart, I could tell that… It was harder leaving last time than I thought it would be. I realized that I’m at that point in my life where I want something more. I want something more permanent, and I don’t want to risk catching feelings for someone that lives too far away for that to work. Is that fair?”  
He let out a breath through his teeth. “Not really. But I get it.” He caught her by her waist before she could walk away. “You should know, then… You leaving sucked for me too. I’ve never connected with someone the way I did with you. And I don’t mean just the sex. I’m okay with just talking to you, if that’s what you want. You’re the first person I’ve met that really and truly understands me. You have no idea how tired I get of hearing something’s not my fault and that things get better over time. You made me feel like I’m strong enough to deal with everything, and that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes.”  
“It makes things better when you’re with someone that’ll help you shoulder you pain, though. That’s what I want, and I know that’s what you want, right?”  
“Yes,” he said, finally. “I do appreciate that you weren’t disturbed by… by me. What happened.”  
“You have nothing to apologize for. And I like that you’re comfortable enough with me that you can tell me.”  
“Can I still talk to you after you go home?”  
“You know you always can,” said Natalie. “When you decide you’re not married to your job anymore.”  
Greg squared his shoulders and crossed his arms. “Bet you fifty bucks he gets out here a happy guy.”  
“How does a fight sound?” Nick said from behind him. Ming flashed a sly smirk at Greg as he turned around.  
“Huh?”  
“There’s an MMA fight tonight at The Mediterranean,” the girl said, coming up from behind Nick.  
“Nick Stokes, this is an old colleague of mine from Stanford, Ming Wu Tsung. He works at the lab in San Diego.” Greg watched as the woman walked from behind Nick.  
“And this is Natalie Gillette,” said Ming. “She’s the night shift lead at my home lab.”  
“I’m actually training Ming to be my replacement,” she said. “I’m gonna be taking a step back, become an independent contractor here soon.”  
“Won’t that take you elsewhere?” asked Nick. Greg’s eyes flashed in his direction.  
Natalie shrugged. “No, I’ll still have my ranch in San Diego county, I just won’t be working cases so much. Just when the lab needs linguistic or document help.”  
Greg took a moment to appreciate her a little better as he shook her proffered hand. She stood a head shorter than he and Nick, but she had the demeanor of someone stronger than both. Her eyes were a dark shade of green and filled with a cleverness often cultivated by people in their field of work. If nothing else, Greg knew her flaring hips and strong legs would cement Nick’s attention. He could almost hear his heart pounding two feet away.  
What Greg didn’t know is that it was her keen insight that captivated Nick. Nothing she did was by accident. Everything she said, everything she did, everything had a root cause, a reason, a purpose. She used that same insight to understand people. Better than they understood themselves. Better than he understood himself.  
The night they met, chance circumstances let to her finding out that he suffered from PTSD. But though he expressed his frustration at her caring nature, she was also persistent and continued to talk to him. “Once you realize and accept that you’ll never be quite okay, you will make peace with your demons, instead of fighting them. Because that’s not a fight anyone can win. It’s okay to not be okay.”  
Nick had finally relented, and fell into a relaxed conversation with her that lasted well into the night. Talking led to drinks, and drinks led to her hotel room. And he’d never regretted a single moment.


End file.
